Garment hanger sheet material

ABSTRACT

A device adapted to be folded and hung on the horizontal support bar of a garment hanger. A flap on the bottom edge of an elongated opening in one downward-hanging skirt of the device is adapted to overlap a similar flap on the bottom edge of a similar opening in the other skirt to provide a supplemental garment supporting ledge that is wider and longer than the support bar of the hanger.

United States Patent [1 1 Tiss 1*July 17, 1973 [5 GARMENT HANGER SHEET MATERIAL 1,662,855 3/1928 Gaume 223/98 I 1,665,983 4/1928 Rose..... [76] lnvemor- P T155 2 Archbndge Lame-1 1,786,923 12 1930 Scruby 223/98 x Sprmgfield, N.J

[ Notice: The portion of the term of this P i E i jordan Franklin pa subsequent to y 1987, Assistant ExaminerGeorge H. Krizmanich has been disclaimed. AttorneyKarl Huber [22] Filed: Sept. 27, 1967 211 Appl. No.: 670,928 [571 ABSTRACT A device adapted to be folded and hung on the horizon- 52 us. Cl. 223/87, 223/95 SuPPO" bar garmcm hangcr- A flap the [51] A47j 51/097 [58] Field of Search 223/85, 87, 88, 91, 223/98, 95

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,601,284 9/1926 Battle 223/98 tom edge of an elongated opening in one downwardhanging skirt of the device is adapted to overlap a similar flap on the bottom edge of a similar opening in the other skirt to provide a supplemental garment supporting ledge that is wider and longer than the support bar of the hanger.

5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented July 17, 1973 3,746,222

INVENTOR IRVING DAVID TISS ATTORNEY GARMENT HANGER SHEET MATERIAL The present invention relates to garment hangers and particularly to a device for providing a supplemental garment supporting ledge on a garment hanger, such as a conventional triangular wire hanger, that has a garment support bar which is too short and narrow for supporting some garments, such as knitted garments, properly.

If a knit dress, coat, or other knitted garment, is hung on a conventional triangular wood or wire hanger in the usual manner either draped over the shoulder portions of the hanger or hung over the horizontal bar portion the weight of the garment pulls the stitches down and stretches it. Stretching is reduced if the garment is folded end for end and hung over the bar in that condition, but the bar is too short for the width of the garment. The garment must therefore be folded over laterally one or more times in order to fit on the bar. Folding the garment in this manner, however, produces undesirable creases lengthwise in the garment. Also the very slim support bar of a conventional hanger will usually produce other unwanted creases across the garment. Consequently, knitted garments are not ordinarily placed on hangers, but are carried and stored in flat condition, which is both inconvenient and requires a disproportionate amount of space. This is particularly troublesome for cleaning establishments and tailor shops, in which time and space are at a premium, and in which hangers are a necessary part of the usual system for storing garments so as to be able to retrieve them from an alphabetical or numerical arrangement with a minimum of searching.

A particular object of this invention is to provide a device that adds to a conventional hanger a supplemental support ledge which may be made wider and longer than the support bar of the hanger so as to provide the hanger with a ledge on which particular garments, such as knitted dresses and shirts, are supported without stretching or creasing.

The device of this invention is formed of a sheet of stiff material folded double and hung over the horizontal bar of a conventional garment hanger, or similar horizontal edge surface, to form two downwardhanging skirts. An elongated opening in one skirt coincides with a similar opening in the other and flaps hinged on the bottom edges of the respective openings are adapted to overlap so as to hold edges of the openings apart and form a support ledge. The skirts and openings therein are preferably made wider than the length ofthe bar of the hanger so as to accommodate the full width of a garment, such as a knit dress or skirt, which can thus be hung over the ledge without having to fold it laterally or bunch it up at the edges. If the garment is so long that the ends hanging down would stretch it, it may be folded lengthwise to reduce the length of the hanging portions, and by making the support ledge wider than the bar of the hanger, the support ledge does not cause the sharp perceptible crease produced across the garment when it is hung over the narrow bar of a conventional hanger.

Further objects, advantages and features of this invention appear in the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, which are described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a sheet formed in the requisite configuration for a device of the invention, showing the sheet in unfolded flat condition;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation illustrating the manner of using the device, showing the sheet of FIG. 1 folded double and hung over the support bar ofa conventional hanger so that openings in the downward hanging portions, or skirts, of the sheet coincide;

FIG. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing the flaps, which are in the openings, attached in overlapping position;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but illustrating alternative means for attaching the flaps together; and

FIG. 5 is a horizontal section through the device shown in FIG. 2, the section being through the openings in the skirts to reveal the flaps in top plan, illustrating still another means of holding the flaps in overlapping position.

Referring to the drawings, as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the device of this invention is a sheet 10 of stiff material, such as cardboard, adapted to be folded double along a central fold-line 11 so that it may be hung over the support bar 12 of a garment hanger 13, such as a conventional wire hanger 13 shown in FIG. 2. The portions 14 and 15 of the sheet 10 at either side of the foldline are downward hanging skirts when the sheet is folded and hung on a horizontal support bar, and each of them has an elongated opening therein, the respective openings being designated by the reference numbers 16 and 17. The edges 16a and 17a, which are the bottom edges of the openings when the skirts 14 and 15 hang down, are straight and parallel to each other and to the fold line 11. They are also equidistant from the fold line so as to be in a horizontal plane parallel to it when the sheet 10 is doubled. The openings 16 and 17 thus coincide to permit a garment, indicated by dash lines 18, to be passed through the openings and be supported on a ledge formed by the edges 16a and 17a and flaps 23 and 24, that are hinged to the respective edges 16a and 17a and that are placed in overlapping relation to form the ledge. The structure and operation of the flaps are subsequently described in more detail.

The structure of the device that enables the aforementioned support ledge to be made longer than the bar 12 of a hanger 13, is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Specifically, the width of the sheet 10, or at least the widths of the skirt portions 14 and 15, and the lengths of the openings 16 and 17, as defined by their bottom edges 16a and 17a, are made greater than the length of the support bar. The fold-line 11 is the same length, or shorter than, the support bar and the edges of the sheet in line with the ends of the fold-line are slit, as indicated at 19 and 20,,to enable the edge portions of the sheet to fit around and extend beyond the side pieces 21 and 22 of the hanger. As indicated the inner ends of the slits are slightly enlarged to accommodate the side pieces of the hanger, which pass through them.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, the flaps 23 and 24, which are hinged to the edges 16a and 17a, provide means for holding the edges apart to form a support ledge that is wider than the bar 12. The flaps are adapted to be swung in toward each other so that one may overlap the other, and at least one of the flaps is made wide enough so that when the flaps are in overlapping position, the ledge formed thereby will be the desired width.

The flaps 23 and 24 are suitably formed by leaving material in the openings 16 and 17 when the openings are made bydie cutting, for example and by making score-lines at the bases of the flaps to define the edges 16a and 17a of the openings and to provide the hinges for the flaps.

When the flaps are swung into overlapping position, the weight of a garment hung over the ledge tends to maintain them in such overlapped position, in which they hold the edges 16a and 17a apart to form and maintain the relatively wide ledge. In a preferred manner of using the device, however, the flaps are secured in overlapped position by suitable means, such as staples 25, indicated in FIG. 3, or by a layer of adhesive 26, illustrated in FIG. 4. The device may suitably be provided with an adhesive of a type to be made adhesive by wetting, or by one which may be carried on one of the flaps and be rendered adhesive, when it is to be used, by removing a protective covering strip, for example. Such adhesive is suitably carried on the underside of the flap that will be on top, so as to be at the interface between the overlapping flaps, in order to eliminate the possibility of the adhesive being on top of the ledge.

Another alternative means for securing the flaps in overlapped position is illustrated in FIG. 5, wherein at least one of the flaps, flap 24 in the drawing, has a slit 27 extending in from its outer edge. The flaps may then be brought together so that the other flap, flap 25, is in the slit with the portion of the flap 24 at the right of the slit overlapping the flap 25, while the portion at the left underlaps it.

In practice the sheets are stored in their flat condition, illustrated in FIG. 1, until they are to be used. Then a sheet is folded and placed on the support bar of a hanger. Next the flaps are swung toward each other until they overlap to form the garment supporting ledge. It is thus apparent that the device is inexpensive to make, easily and quickly prepared for use, and provides a garment support ledge that is better adapted for some garments than the bar on which the device may be hung. I y

in the illustrative embodiments shown in the drawings, only one garment supporting ledge is depicted in a simple device, but it will be appreciated that more than one such ledge can be formed in each device. Moreover, several such ledges, each being a different width'and/or length can be provided in one device.

It is also to be understood that. the embodiments shown and described herein are illustrative only and that some modifications may be made in the structures and arrangements of elements of these embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Thecombination of a garment hanger having a vice comprising: an elongated sheet of stiff material having a fold-line centrally and longitudinally of the sheet at which the sheet is doubled over and hung on said support bar forming a pair of downwardly hanging skirts, said skirts having elongated openings there through longitudinally of the skirts, the openings each having bottom edges so that when the skirts hang down, the bottom edge of one opening is substantially parallel to and co-extensive with the bottom edge of the other opening and parallel to the foldline, each of the bottom edgeshaving a co-extensive flap. hinged to it and swung to a position with one of the flaps overlapping the other, means attaching said flaps together, and the widths of the flaps from their hinged edges to their free edges being. such that the ledge formed is wider than the support bar, the lengths of the portions of the sheet that form the skirts, and the lengths of the openings in the skirts as defined by said bottom edges, are greater than the length of the sheet at the fold-line, whereby the sheet has a length at the fold-line approximately equal to the length of the garment support bar over which the sheet is hung, the device providing a garment supporting ledge that is both wider and longer than the support bar.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said attaching means comprises staples through the lapped portions of the flaps.

3. The device of claim I in which said attaching means comprises an adhesive material on a portion of I flap when the flaps are aligned for the aforesaid portions to overlap and underlap, respectively, as'the sheet is folded double.

5. The combination of claim 1 in which the garment hanger is a generally triangular garment hanger, the base of the triangle being the garment support bar, in which said sheet is wider than the length of the support bar, said fold-line is. approximatelyas long as said supnarrow horizontal support bar anda wide garment supporting device for said support bar, said supporting de-' port bar with the opposite edges of the sheet having slots therein extending into the respective ends of the fold-line receiving the side of said hanger and permitting the doubled over sheet to be hung on said garment hanger and seated thereon with the fold-line resting on said support bar. 

1. The combination of a garment hanger having a narrow horizontal support bar and a wide garment supporting device for said support bar, said supporting device comprising: an elongated sheet of stiff material having a fold-line centrally and longitudinally of the sheet at which the sheet is doubled over and hung on said support bar forming a pair of downwardly hanging skirts, said skirts having elongated openings there through longitudinally of the skirts, the openings each having bottom edges so that when the skirts hang down, the bottom edge of one opening is substantially parallel to and co-extensive with the bottom edge of the other opening and parallel to the foldline, each of the bottom edges having a co-extensive flap hinged to it and swung to a position with one of the flaps overlapping the other, means attaching said flaps together, and the widths of the flaps from their hinged edges to their free edges being such that the ledge formed is wider than the support bar, the lengths of the portions of the sheet that form the skirts, and the lengths of the openings in the skirts as defined by said bottom edges, are greater than the length of the sheet at the fold-line, whereby the sheet has a length at the fold-line approximately equal to the length of the garment support bar over which the sheet is hung, the device providing a garment supporting ledge that is both wider and longer than the support bar.
 2. The device of claim 1 in which said attaching means comprises staples through the lapped portions of the flaps.
 3. The device of cLaim 1 in which said attaching means comprises an adhesive material on a portion of at least one of the flaps that will be at the interface when the flaps are in overlapping position.
 4. The device of claim 1 in which said attaching means comprises at least one of said flaps having a slit extending inward from its free edge toward its hinged edge for the portion of the flap with the slit at one side of the slit to overlap a corresponding portion of the other flap, and for the portion at the other side of the slit to underlap a corresponding portion of said other flap when the flaps are aligned for the aforesaid portions to overlap and underlap, respectively, as the sheet is folded double.
 5. The combination of claim 1 in which the garment hanger is a generally triangular garment hanger, the base of the triangle being the garment support bar, in which said sheet is wider than the length of the support bar, said fold-line is approximately as long as said support bar with the opposite edges of the sheet having slots therein extending into the respective ends of the fold-line receiving the side of said hanger and permitting the doubled over sheet to be hung on said garment hanger and seated thereon with the fold-line resting on said support bar. 